Chaos
by Kali Gargoyle
Summary: Following the movies...an old enemy resurfaces, but not quite in a way you'd expect. Finished, so please Read and Review.
1. Lost and Found

Chapter One: Lost and Found

Chaos

By Kali Gargoyle

Chapter One: Lost and Found

***

"_Now_ look what you've done, Raven."

"I'm sorry, Indigo. It just slipped."

"You are such a klutz."

Three girls stood on a dark street; a street where no one else dared venture, except those with malicious intents. However, if they were there, they weren't making themselves known at the moment. A breeze tossed drying leaves and bits of litter up into a tiny whirlwind that zigzagged across the empty street.

One girl, the tallest of the three, dropped to her knees and reached down into the gutter beside them. She pushed her arm down into the drain and felt around.

"Goddess, Indigo!" another girl cried, smacking her forehead. "It's just a book."

Indigo jumped up and poked the girl in the chest. "It's not 'just a book', Morgan. That was my Book of Shadows! I've had it for three cycles."

Morgan blinked. "By Luna, Indigo, why would you go and drop something like that in the sewers?"

Indigo screamed in frustration. "It's not like I did it on purpose!" She whirled around to face the third girl. "_You_ dropped it."

Raven squeaked and jumped back. "It was an accident!"

Indigo closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She relaxed and reverted back into her usual calm, casual self. "I know, Raven. But we still have to get it back." She looked down at the drainage grate thoughtfully.

Morgan rolled her eyes. "Why not just buy a new one?"

Indigo smacked the heel of her hand against her forehead. "Why didn't I think of that? I'll just go down to the shop and buy another record of the last three months!" She glared at Morgan with those same intense eyes that had been her namesake. Morgan gulped, then quickly recovered and shrugged in her usual I-don't-care manner. Indigo turned and looked around.

"Maybe we can find another way in?" she said, more to herself than her friends.

Raven dropped the curl of dark hair she'd been playing with as her jaw dropped. "_We_? Into the _sewers_?"

Indigo held her gaze. "You have a better idea? I _need_ that book back."

"But…but…into the _sewers_? I mean, ewwwwwwwwwww." She shivered.

Morgan rolled her eyes. "Holy stars, Raven, you are such a chicken."

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Indigo tuned out her friends with practiced ease and searched around. She didn't want to risk the manhole cover in front of them, smack in the middle of the street. She really didn't feel like becoming street pizza tonight, even if the road was abandoned of all life, save for them.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

__

Ah. Indigo kicked aside a cardboard box and grinned down at the metal circle. She turned back to her friends. "Hey, guys!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Indigo sighed and squatted down to try and open the cover herself. She slipped her thin fingers into the holes and pulled.

__

No good, damn.

The sound of an aluminum can hitting brick caught her attention. She stood quickly.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Indigo smacked them quickly across the shoulders and they looked at her as if she'd just taken away their favorite toy. Well, she _had _stopped their fun.

"What'd you do that for?" Morgan snapped.

"That hurt," Raven whined.

"Shh," Indigo hissed. "I thought I heard something. Someone's here."

Raven clutched onto Indigo's leather jacket. "Let's go then."

Indigo nodded. Raven smiled and let go of her sleeve.

"As soon as we find my book."

***

The sewers of New York were dark, damp, cold, and dirty.

__

Home, sweet, home, Raphael thought as he and his brother tromped down the tunnel.

Michaelangelo walked ahead, humming to himself. His cheeriness was beginning to get on Raph's nerves. And that stupid song! It bugged Raph that he couldn't place it, although he was sure he'd heard it before.

All this, and the fact that the pizza parlor had been out of his favorite topping, made Raphael very irritable. More so than usual. In fact, he was two seconds away from punching Mike in the beak if he didn't lay off the humming.

"Hey, what's this?"

Mike balanced the two pizzas in one hand and bent down the pick up something. It looked like a book, deep red with a silver symbol on the front, some sort of star.

"Whatcha got there, Mike?" Raph walked up and tried to take the book, but Mike turned and he got the pizzas instead.

"It looks like some sort of book." Mike opened it and flipped through. Some pages were lined, others were blank, and about a fourth of the book was filled with writing and drawings.

"It looks like a diary," Raph said. "Don't read it." He made another grab for it, but Mike evaded yet again.

"Hold on, maybe there's a name, so we can return it. 'This Book of Shadows is the property of Indigo Tarot, ranking member of Silver Circle Coven'," Mike read.

"Coven? Crap, Mikey, shut the damn book!"

Mike rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you believe in witches?"

"We've seen weirder."

Mike pondered this for a second. "Gotcha." He grinned. "But doesn't Indigo Tarot sound like a hot name? Very exotic."

Raph groaned and finally snatched the book away, handing the pizzas back to his brother. He stuck the book in his coat. "You take these back to the lair. I'll go topside and see if I can find the owner."

Mike pouted. "You just want first shot at that Indigo chick."

Raph growled and Mike jumped.

"I'm going, I'm going!"

***

Morgan caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. "Indigo…"

"Yeah, I see 'em."

Raven tightened her grip around Indigo's arm. "Please, let's leave."

Indigo smiled down at her. "Now aren't you glad we dragged you to our self-defense class?"

"I distinctly remember the first defense involving running."

Morgan snorted a small laugh. Her gaze caught a tall man walking towards them. Hardly a man, more like a boy, about the same age as them, eighteen. She recognized him from school but couldn't remember his name.

Five friends joined him, and they surrounded the girls.

"Well, hello there ladies," the leader said smoothly. "Young lovely things such as yourselves shouldn't be out alone at this time of night." Some of the boys snickered.

Indigo met his gaze. "Go away, Brad."

Morgan mentally snapped her fingers. Brad Crenshaw, that's his name. Captain of the wrestling team. The wrestling team that wouldn't let Morgan join. This would be fun.

Indigo put a hand on her shoulder, as if reading her mind and forbidding the action.

Brad chuckled. "I don't think so, witch. See, I know what you three did to Karen."

Raven gasped. "We did nothing! It's not our fault she got suspended."

An ugly sneer invaded Brad's handsome features. "Spare me, we're here to make sure you get punished."

The boys laughed as they closed their circle.

***

Raphael pulled himself out of the hole and looked around. He was in a part of town he and his brother's didn't venture into often. And with good reason. It used to be Foot territory, and still housed small groups who refused to die. Not even a ninja would walk these streets, armed or not, unless absolutely necessary.

__

Just my luck. He retraced his steps and found the spot above where Mike had found the book. He pulled the crimson book out from his coat and shivered. Just holding the damn thing freaked him out. He wanted nothing more that to throw it away and head back home.

But no, he couldn't do that, it would be wrong, he could hear Leo say. He opened the cover and scanned. Up in the upper left corner of the inside cover was an address. But it was to a place way across town.

Raph groaned, "Why me?" At least he could travel by sewer and he could leave this god-forsaken neighborhood.

A scream interrupted his thought and he ran towards the sound before his mind could argue.

"Hold it, freak!"

He skidded to a stop and tensed up; ready to teach a lesson to whomever had said that. It took him a confused moment to realize that the insult was not directed at him for once.

The full moon illuminated the scene before him perfectly. Six boys surrounded three girls, all dressed in somewhat gothic clothing. The two taller girls stood ready to fight while the shorter girl looked ready to bawl.

Raphael reached for his sai and gripped them, his two fingers curling around the familiar metal.

__

Cowards, he thought. _Pickin' on girls._

Just as one of the boys made a grab of the blonde girl he was pulled back into the shadows. The other boys stopped and stared into the shadow that had swallowed their friend.

"Daniel!" one of the boys cried.

Something moved. It stepped towards them, too short and too bulky to be their friend.

Raven hid behind Morgan and Indigo stood ready to defend them both. The five remaining boys forgot about the girls for the moment.

A fist flew forward and flattened the nose of an oriental boy, sending him to the ground. Another boy got kicked in the gut before something slammed down on his shoulders. Two of the remaining boys fled, leaving Brad Crenshaw, the girls, and Raphael.

"Leave them alone," Raphael growled.

Brad tried to mask his fear. Instead, he turned to the girls. "This isn't over." He followed his friends, the fallen three bringing up the rear.

"Coward!" Morgan yelled after them.

Indigo relaxed and straightened her jacket. "Thanks."

Raphael started. "Uh, yer welcome. Those jerks needed to be taught a lesson."

Raven finally let the tears flow. "I wanna go _now_, Indigo!"

Indigo turned her head towards the small girl. "Yeah, I guess I'll just have to get another book."

__

The book! Raphael dug into his jacket. "Wait a sec…ah ha!" He held out the book Mike had found in the sewers.

Indigo let out a cry of joy. "My Book of Shadows!" She grabbed the book and clasped it to her chest. "You found it! Thank you!" She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

Raphael blushed, then shied back. "Well, my brother found it and I figured I oughta return it."

Indigo brushed a strand of blonde hair away from her eyes. "You didn't read anything, did you?" Her voice held worry, not accusation.

"Only to get your name and address, Indigo." He turned back into the shadows. _Mike was right…hot._

He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you know my name, what's yours?"

Raphael raised an eyeridge. This encounter was unlike any other he'd had with humans. "Uh, Raphael."

Indigo smiled. "How angelic."

Raph snorted. _Angelic? Me? Right. And Mike does Calculus._

"That's Raven," she pointed to the small girl with thick black hair, "and that's Morgan," she pointed to another girl with an unnatural red pixie cut. "Nice to meet ya, Raphael."

"Yeah." He suddenly became very uncomfortable. "I gotta go. Maybe I'll see you around." _Why'd I say that?_

"'Kay," Indigo waved as he left.

Raphael paused just above the open manhole cover to make sure he wasn't followed. He thought for a second that he should follow the girls in case they ran into more trouble, but then he caught sight of them getting on a bus. He climbed down the ladder and pulled the cover back into place.

He leaned against the ladder and gently touched his cheek. It still tingled. He walked home slowly, breathing in the memory of her lavender perfume until the real scent of pizza invaded his senses.

"Hey!" Mike greeted with a mouthful of pizza. "How'd it go?"

Leonardo swallowed. "Don't talk with your mouth full, Mike."

Mike swallowed and rolled his eyes at the same time. "So, did you find the Indian chick?"

"Indigo, Mike, and yeah, I returned the book."

"Well?"

Raph hung up his coat and fedora. "Well, what?"

"What about her? Geez! Come on, I want details!"

Raph grabbed a slice of pizza. "She's like every other human girl, Mike, out of our league. She and her friends were getting bullied by some punks, but I took care of 'em."

"Were you seen?"

Raphael spun around to see their sensei, Splinter, standing in the doorway of one of the subway cars. "Uh, ummm…I had to return the book. I had my coat on, I don't think they noticed I was a turtle. The punks never saw me."

Splinter twitched his whiskers. "For all our sakes, I hope not."

Leo squinted. "Raph…is that lipstick?"

Raph's hand went up and covered his cheek. _Damn._

Mike nearly choked on his pizza. "_cough cough_ Lipstick? _cough_"


	2. Friends and Enemies

Chapter Two:

Chapter Two: Friends and Enemies 

***

Indigo moved through the crowded halls with ease. While everyone else was being pushed and shoved, Indigo was given a wide berth. She couldn't make out the whispers, but could make other voices out perfectly, the ones who didn't care if she heard, or those who wanted her to hear. Just like every other school day.

She found Morgan and Raven waiting by her locker, as usual. However, the expressions on their faces were not expected.

"Brad and his jock friends started another rumor," Morgan said before Indigo had even reached them.

"And a good morning to you, too," Indigo replied, twirling the combination on her locker.

"Where were you this morning?" Morgan demanded. "I tried to call but your mom said you'd already left."

Indigo shrugged. "I needed to do some shopping."

Morgan sighed. Raven sobbed, "Brad told about last night."

Indigo exchanged her books. "About how he tried to beat us up?"

"About the demon we summoned," Morgan answered bluntly.

Indigo dropped her books. "Excuse me?"

Morgan leaned against the lockers. "Word around the school is that Brad and his pals caught us trying to spell Karen 'again', and when they tried to stop us, we unleashed a demon."

"That's stupid!" Indigo cried. Some students stopped and turned towards the shout, only to hurry on when they saw the speaker. Indigo bent down to pick up her books. She slammed her locker. "Follow me."

Morgan and Raven followed their friend out of the school to a grove of trees where they had been sitting for lunch the past three years. Indigo turned back to her friends. "We don't summon demons."

"_I_ know that," said Morgan, "and _you_ know that, but Brad and his friends don't really care about the truth. They have it in for us."

Raven sat on the ground, smoothing out her skirt. "Why are they doing this to us?"

Indigo knelt down beside her friend. "We've dealt with this for a long time, Raven, and we'll get through this."

Morgan kicked aside a stray rock. "But I'm not too sure about the demon part."

Indigo stood up. "Morgan…"

Morgan faced her, her pale pink sunglasses falling down her nose. "I'm serious, Indigo, did you get a load of that guy. He came out of _nowhere_ and he was _not_ human."

Indigo pushed her own dark sunglasses up the bridge of her nose. "Raphael saved us. He's an angel, not a demon. I sensed…chaos, but not evil."

Morgan stared for a second, then smirked. "You've got the hots for him."

Indigo flipped her braid over her shoulder. "Oh, please, Morgan, that's ridiculous." Just then, the warning bell rang, saving her from the conversation. She picked Raven up and they hurried off to their first class.

Morgan followed after them, shaking her head. "Breeders."

***

Raphael was trying his very best to watch his temper. He knew an outburst would just give his questioning brother more to use against him. But soon, it became too much.

"Leave me alone, Mike, or I'm gonna stuff my sai where the sun don't shine."

Mike grinned. "We don't get sun down here, bro."

Raphael grumbled and tried to go back to watching TV.

But Mike was persistent. "Come on, dude, just tell me. Did she really kiss you?"

Raph threw him arms up. "It's no big deal!"

Mike stood with his mouth open. "No big deal? She kissed you! April's never even kissed us."

Raphael ran his hand down his face, remembering a few times April had indeed given them a quick smack on the cheek. "Look, if I tell you will you leave me alone?"

"Yes."

"Why do I not believe you?"

"Please, bro."

Raph left the couch and went over to Donnie's area. "Hey, Donnie, you got something in that junkpile that gets rid of annoying siblings?"

Donatello looked up from his latest project, something he'd taken apart and was now trying to put back together. "Nope, sorry."

Raph turned around and scowled at Mike's grinning face. "Look, I saved her and her friends from those jerks and gave her her book back. It was just a thank you."

Mike sighed. "I should have gone with you."

Don looked up again. "Raph, if she got close enough to kiss you, she may have noticed you weren't human."

Raph blinked. "I never thought of that. They didn't say anything. Ya think they'd scream and run."

Don shrugged. "Maybe they were too excited, or upset, to notice."

"Uh, huh." Raph headed back to his room. "I'm going for a walk."

"At this time of day?" Mike asked. It was rare for any of them to leave the lair before dark.

"I'll be careful."

***

Indigo waved as Morgan's car pulled away. She hiked her bag up and headed up the stairs.

"Ahem!" Someone cleared their throat behind her. She turned to a man wearing a bulky trenchcoat.

"Oh, it's you." She stepped back down to the sidewalk and faced Raphael.

"Hey," he smiled. "Told ya I'd see you around."

"Yeah."

Raphael frowned. She didn't seem too happy to see him. Did she know and was afraid of him? He growled. "Don't sound too enthusiastic."

"Huh?" Indigo blushed. "Oh, sorry, don't mind me, I've just had a very bad day." She sat down on the steps leading up to her house.

Raphael sat beside her. "More trouble with those jerks?" _If they've hurt her…_

"In a way. Except this time they threw words instead of punches."

"Insults?" Raph asked.

Indigo sighed. "Rumors. See, we aren't very popular at school. The latest story is that we; Morgan, Raven, and I, put some sort of curse of Karen McDaniel, the head cheerleader. She got caught last week with drugs and was suspended."

Raph thought for a second. "Did you?"

"No!" Indigo cried, looking at him like she'd been struck. "We never do curses!"

"Sorry," Raphael apologized. "So why are they saying you did?"

Indigo looked up at the cloudy sky. "Because they're just trying to hurt us. They don't like us because we're different and they don't understand. They want someone to blame, and I guess we're the scapegoats of choice."

Raphael looked at her face, trying to judge what she was thinking. Somehow her story got him thinking about how he and his brothers were treated.

"Anyway, Brad and his friends decide to come after us last night to 'teach us a lesson'. Then you showed up and scared them off."

Raph grinned. "Yeah, I did."

Indigo frowned. "And now they're saying we summoned a demon to protect us."

Raphael froze. "Oh, no…"

Indigo caught the expression on his face. "No, none of then saw you. Even if a human had shown up, they still would have cried demon."

"Oh…" Raphael lowered his hat. "So, you know."

"About what?" She asked, and he looked just in time to see her wink. It made him smile. "My lips are sealed, Raphael."

Raph stood up. "Yeah, I better get going or my bro's gonna have my shell, I mean," he looked down at Indigo and she nodded. "Okay, well, I'll catch ya later." He turned to go and turned back. "Hey, and Indigo."

She was already halfway up the stairs. "Yeah, Raphael?"

"You can just call my Raph."

Indigo smiled. "Sure, but I'm afraid I don't have a nickname."

Raph smirked. "I'll think up one."

Indigo chuckled as she climbed up the rest of the steps. She opened the door and looked around but Raph had left. After closing the door she waved a silent hello to her family, grabbed her mail, her latest issue of YM, and shot up more stairs to her bedroom. It used to be the attic, but she talked her mom into letting her move in after the last baby was born. Indigo rolled her eyes. At least she hoped it was the last, five siblings were more than enough.

She dumped her bag on her bed and pulled out her Book of Shadows. She also took out her quill pen and ink, the tools she always used to write in her BOS.

__

October 17th

The rumors are flying again, and I try to not let them get to me because I have to be strong. Raven and Morgan are both so upset.

I met a new friend today. Well, last night actually, he's the one who saved us. Raphael. Sounds like the name of a guardian angel. He could be for all I know, 'cause he's not human. I sense so much power from him, but it's very undisciplined. Maybe I could talk him into joining our circle, as a fourth.

Just then the doorbell rang and Indigo set her book on the desk to dry. She ran down to greet her friends and bring them upstairs.

"You'll never guess who I met today," Indigo said as she opened her door.

"Brad Pitt," Raven squealed.

Indigo gave her a look as she closed her BOS. "No, Raphael."

Morgan shrunched up her face. "That freak from last night?"

Indigo flicked Morgan's ear, making the hoops jingle together. "Don't say that like it's a bad thing," she said. "He was waiting for me when I got home."

"Stalker," Morgan coughed.

"Oh, he is not! We talked and he's really nice."

"For a non-human," Raven added, jumping on the bed.

Indigo sighed in defeat. "Uncle. Now, let's get on with the circle. First order of business…"

"We've been banned from the Halloween dance," Morgan said, grabbing Indigo's desk chair and sitting backwards in it. Indigo didn't respond. They'd been unofficially banned for the last three years, why should this year be any different? Or different from any other dance at that?

Raven perked up. "But they're having an open circle in the park."

Indigo nodded, although she'd known this ahead of time and had already signed up for a booth. "All good, but that's not what we need to discuss. We need to talk about last night."

Raven shivered. "I'd rather not."

"Wimp," Morgan chuckled.

Indigo silenced her with a glare. "It's important. We need to talk about this."

Morgan folded her arms on the back of the chair and leaned forward. "I say we do it, we can use the money."

Raven twirled a lock of black hair around her fingers. "We aren't suppose to accept money."

"We aren't supposed to be blackmailed either," Morgan snapped.

Indigo considered her friend's conflicting temperaments and reminded herself to remain a neutral balance. This was the hardest decision any of them had to face. Harder than deciding what college to go to in the fall. Harder than deciding to form their coven. They had to decide whether a man lived or died.

At first it had been easy. They'd all felt uncomfortable getting off the bus that night, and got even more so when they'd met their employer. Indigo had decided before hearing this person that she wasn't going to help. He was a mean looking man who spoke very little English. Luckily, one of his soldiers, Indigo assumed they were soldiers by the way they were dressed, spoke rather well. He told them that their master had been poisoned and they could do nothing for him medically. He demanded the girls use their skills to help.

"We can't," Indigo had said. "We don't have that kind of power."

The man only smiled. "You do. We were told that only you could help us. We are willing to pay generously."

Morgan stepped forward. "How much?"

"The amount will be decided when you agree."

"And if we don't?" Raven asked cautiously.

"You will die. You have twenty four hours to decide."

Then they were taken back outside where they lost Indigo's BOS and that whole other incident started.

Indigo blinked and looked back up at her friends. "We don't really have a choice. We refuse, we die, plus their master. It would be stupid to turn them down."

Both her friends lowered their heads and nodded solemnly.

***

Raphael returned home and tried to get back into his room without being noticed.

"Where have you been?"

So much for that idea. Raphael turned around to face Leo and his inevitable lecture.

"Do you know how dangerous it is to go out in broad daylight? What if someone saw you?"

"I had to do somethin', Leo, I'm fine."

"And what was that?"

"None 'a your damn business," Raphael snapped, retreating to the solitude of his room. While Mike and Don decided to share a room, although Don often fell asleep at the computer, Raph wanted someplace to be alone. He cleaned out an old ticket booth that was nearly as big as one of the cars, and claimed that as his own.

Leo stopped the door before it could slam shut. "I'm not through with you."

"Yeah? Well, I'm through with you."

Leo didn't budge. "Where'd you go Raph?"

"You ain't my keeper. Look, Don pointed something out to me and I had to see if it was true."

"Was it?"

"Yeah, but it ain't nothing to worry about. I took care of it." Raph rolled over with his shell towards Leo and went to sleep.


	3. Dreams and Realities

Chapter Three: Dreams and Realites

Chapter Three: Dreams and Realities

***

Indigo jumped as her phone rang. Raven and Morgan sat up a little straighter as she picked it up, noting with a cringe that it blocked her caller ID.

"Hello?"

"We need your answer," a voice on the other end replied.

Indigo gave her friends a quick look before answering. "We accept."

"Good. Be here the night the moon is full. Three days." Then they hung up.

Indigo set the receiver down and fell backwards onto her bed. She looked up at the ceiling. "It's set."

***

Splinter lifted his head from his meditation sharply, catching the attention of his star pupil. "Sensei? What is it?" Leonardo knelt beside his aging master.

Splinter put a furry hand on Leonardo's arm to help calm him, although Splinter was far from calm himself. "I received a disturbing vision, my son."

"About what?" Now Leonardo was very worried.

Splinter closed his eyes, as if trying to remember. "I'm not sure. I can only remember a sense of dread and great danger. I have not had this feeling since the Shredder was defeated."

Leonardo tried to think of something relevant to say. "But he's dead. We made sure…"

"Yes, Leonardo," Splinter replied. "But evil like his is strong, as is not destroyed simply by killing the body. I fear that it will come back to haunt us."

Leonardo took a deep breath. He didn't like the sound of that one bit.

***

Indigo snuffed out her candles before crawling into bed. She had so much on her mind she wasn't sure if she could sleep. Three days? That was hardly enough time for something like this. They hadn't even given them any instructions, just 'be there'. The whole situation rubbed Indigo the wrong way, but she had no choice unless she wanted her and her friends to end up in a shallow grave somewhere.

She looked up at the nearly full moon through her window. It sat there, reminding her.

Despite it all, she fell asleep rather easily…

__

She moved down a long corridor lit only by sparse light fixtures along either wall. There were doors along the way, but when she tried to reach out, her body did not respond. She just kept moving, followed by the distinctive sound of metal moving against metal. The clicks and clangs followed her out into a large room lit from overhead.

Five figures knelt before her. She saw them clearly. She saw Raphael, whom she easily recognized, and couldn't help but wonder what he was doing here. Three other turtles knelt beside Raphael, all with their hands tied behind them. The last was a large rat with brown and gray fur.

A young man dressed in black said something she couldn't understand and held out a sword. It was beautiful. She curled her fingers around the hilt without realizing the action until it was supported completely in her grip. She turned back to the figures and found that Raphael was staring at her.

She raised the sword to eye level and caught a glimpse of her reflection. She gasped, although her body refused to acknowledge the action. A metallic mask covered her lower face and a helmet shielded her head. The only things showing were her eyes. But they weren't her eyes. They were solid black and full of malice.

She screamed silently as the sword came down and met little resistance as it sliced through his neck…

The scream continued as Indigo awoke in her room. "Raphael!"

She clutched her sheets to her chest and tried to slow her breathing. She realized that she was safe in her room but it was like a part of her was still in the dream. She shook her head but that only made her dizzy and she pitched to the side, falling out of the bed.

She stayed on the floor for a long time, the strength to pick herself up lost to her. After several attempts to fight, she finally gave in and cried.

***

It was dark. Not as in an absence of light, more of an absence of everything. Bits and pieces of things, but nothing solid. Darker than the space was the single soul that resided there.

__

Is it necessary?

A grunt was heard. No, more _felt_ then heard. More universal, as if all the senses were working at once. The sounds registered as something more abstract than words.

__

They won't like it.

Will he even approve?

If it saves him…

The soul tried to focus in on the sounds, but that only made them more distant. The more effort used, the more jumbled and faded they became, as if they were heading away from here. Or the darkness was moving from them.

__

It's the only way…

***

"It will save him!"

Brian circled the table on which his master lay. He eyed the old man across the room suspiciously. All this talk of magick and junk was all just too much for him. He turned to a dark haired boy in the corner.

"I can't believe you volunteered your sister for this, Jay."

Jay looked over at his friend. "I just said that she was into all this, I didn't think they'd drag her and her freak friends down here." He glanced at the shrouded body on the table. "Besides, Raven's not the one they need. The other's are only coming to keep her from being suspicious."

Brian nodded. He approached the old man hunched over a scroll and several vials. "Will this work?"

The old man didn't even bother turning to the youth. "If we time it correctly. He is still tied to his body, but not for long. If not for the special circumstances then we would have already lost him. Has the girl agreed?"

Brian nodded quickly "They'll be here. I still doubt he'll approve."

"We must prepare," the old man whispered, holding a vial of green liquid in front of a candle flame.

***

Raphael sat in the section of their home that served as the kitchen. Don had even managed to pull together some major appliances and they all worked decently most of the time.

The last few days ran over in Raphael's mind. It all started when Mike found that damn book. He should have let Mike take it back. His brother would have an easier time with these feelings.

"Are you going to drink that?"

Raphael snapped out of his trance and looked up at Leo. "Leave me alone."

Instead, Leo took the seat across from Raph. "You were very sloppy in practice today."

Raphael took a swig of the drink only to find that he'd let it get warm.

Leonardo watched his brother carefully. "You shouldn't be interfering in her life."

Raphael glared at his brother. They both knew who he was talking about, but Raph didn't want to have this conversation at the moment. "And _you _shouldn't be interfering in _my_ life."

"Our lives are dangerous, Raph, and it would be wrong to drag her into it, no matter how much you have the hots for her."

Raphael slammed his glass down. "I do not 'have the hots for her'. Wouldn't matter if I did. What about Casey an' April, huh? We put them in danger."

Leo remained calm, angering Raphael all the more. "As I recall, you introduced them to us as well."

Raphael stood up angrily and his chair fell backwards. "Look, Leo, as much as I should appreciate this, I don't, so save it for someone who gives a damn." He kicked the chair legs out of his way and headed for the ladder.

***

Indigo took a deep breath as she waited for Morgan and Raven. Last night's dream was still with her, and she remembered it with vivid clarity. That's what made it so strange, and what disturbed her most. It was un-dreamlike, almost real, almost like…a vision.

She tried to hide her shock as she saw Raphael approach her, dressed in his usual coat and hat. She smiled but she knew by the look he gave her that he wasn't buying it.

"What's up?" he asked casually.

Indigo shrugged. "Just waiting for my ride." She hoped her makeup hid the fact she'd been crying and never got back to sleep. She looked at him, but it brought back the images of her dream, red from green…

She took a shuddering breath and leaned back against the cement handrest. Raphael set his hand against her back, trying to steady her. "Are you okay?"

Indigo nodded and clamped her eyes shut. The images kept coming until she finally snapped opened her eyes and looked into Raphael's worried face. "I'm sorry, but I had a nightmare last night."

Raphael put his arm around her and Indigo had to admit that it made her fell a little better. Safe. "Wanna tell me about it?"

Indigo shook her head. How could she tell him about…that? "No, you don't want to know."

Raphael grinned. "What makes you say that?"

"You were in it."

He let his smile drop. "And it was a _bad_ dream?"

Indigo laughed despite the tears streaking her makeup. "Not because of you…because of what happened to you."

Raphael took his arm away. "'Kay."

"Raph…" A car horn honked and she looked over to see Morgan's old, beat-up Chevy pull up to the curb. "I have to go."

"Uh, huh."

She felt bad about just leaving him like this. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, sure."

Raphael watched Indigo slide into the back seat and waved to the girls as they pulled away. He sighed and began to walk away, in the opposite direction of the lair. He didn't want to go home right now. He wondered if Casey was home and headed in that direction.

***

Indigo craned her head back to watch Raphael until they turned a corner. Morgan snapped her gum.

"He was waiting for you outside your house again? I told you the guy was a stalker. Probably some kind of incubus."

Raven looked back at Indigo. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Indigo suddenly felt angry with her friend. "Why would he hurt me?"

Raven bit her bottom lip. "Sorry. Then why are you crying?"

Indigo pulled out her compact and looked at her face. Aw, man, she looked awful! She took a tissue to dab the mess. "I just had a bad dream last night, and…I don't want to talk about it."

Morgan stopped at a red light a little too close to the car in front of them for Indigo's taste. "By Isis, girl, what it wrong with you? You have dreams all the time."

"Not like this one."

Raven and Morgan exchanged glances. Raven turned back to Indigo, her bright green eyes reflecting deep concern. "Indigo, we've been worried about you lately. You've been acting strange the last few days."

"Life's been strange the last few days," Indigo replied, reapplying her eyeliner.

"Yeah, well, we think it's because of this Raphael guy…"

Indigo looked up at her friend. "That's stupid. If anything it's because your brother suggested our services to his little cult."

Raven flinched. "It's not a cult. It's just…a group. It's very important to him."

"Whatever."

***

Casey Jones plopped down on his stained couch cushions. He set a six pack on the table and a bowl of chips in his lap and used the remote to turn on his thirteen-inch TV. "All right, time to use my day off to do some serious veg-ing."

Of course, it was at that moment that someone knocked on his door. He leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling. "You hate me, don't you?"

The knock came again, a little harder this time, and Casey got up. "I'm coming, alright!"

"It's me, Casey."

Casey pulled the chain on his door. "Yo, Raph, what's up?"

Raphael walked inside and sat down on the couch without a word. He sat there for a few seconds until Casey sat next to him. "I need some advice."

Casey raised an eyebrow. "Why not ask Splinter or Leo or…"

"I need advice about women, Casey."

Casey blinked at this. "Women?" _This was new._

Raphael leaned forward. "Well, one girl…I really don't know what to do. Leo says forget her, but I really like her and…"

Casey broke in. "Whoa, time, bro. I think you should start from the beginning."

Raphael took a deep breath. "Mike and I were coming home from a pizza run a few nights ago…"


	4. Hide and Seek

Chapter Four:

Chapter Four: Hide and Seek

***

"Okay, no one here, let's go home."

Leonardo reached back and grabbed the top of Mike's shell as he turned to go. Mike halted abruptly, one leg stuck out to take another step.

Donatello scanned the room. "It looks like they moved out in a hurry."

Leo let go of Mike and stepped forward. "Then we need to find out where they went."

Mike looked around nervously. "Why, Leo? Shredder's dead and the Foot are leaving us alone. Why do we have to go looking for trouble?"

Raphael put his arm around his shoulder. "It's part of the job. Stop them before they decide to stop leaving us alone."

Leo continued to search, looking over the areas that were cleared of dust, leaving obvious outlines of things that had been there recently. "If Splinter has a premonition that something is going to happen, then I believe it."

"Of course you do," Raphael said.

Leo glared at his brother from the corner of the small room. "Well, it's obvious they're not here, but they have to be close."

"Yeah," Donnie added. "It's looks like they had a lot of stuff, and they couldn't have moved it all this fast in that short amount of time. Not with their low numbers."

"We'll just have to check the entire area."

Mike groaned and Raphael adopted his 'rebel' pose. "Come on, Leo, this is stupid."

Leo turned back. "What if they're up to something?"

"Then we'll find out soon enough, won't we?"

Mike and Don both took a step back, neither wanting to be pulled into the argument that was sure to erupt. None of them _really_ wanted to be here, not even Leo. But he seemed to be the only one to understand why they were doing this.

Leo clenched his fist, trying to not let his brother's attitude upset him. "Look, Raph, I know you'd rather be hanging out with your girlfriend right now…"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"…but this is important. I don't want to be caught off guard again." That still haunted him. He'd let his guard down at TGRI, and when the Foot attacked, they weren't prepared. They had managed to get out with their shells intact, but they had lost the ooze to the Foot. He never should have let that happen.

Leo looked over his brothers' faces. They'd been out here for hours and were beginning to show it. He sighed, "One more building, then we'll go home."

***

Indigo took a deep breath as she stepped onto the bus. She passed by the other passengers and took a seat next to the rear exit to make her escape easier. Across from her sat an old man who continuously leered at her. Beside her was a young student, maybe fifteen, with greasy hair who was staring at his hands, mumbling incoherently.

She sank low in her seat and wished she had scheduled this better with her friends. If Morgan hadn't lost her car privileges, excluding school, they all could have driven together. And Indigo wouldn't have to ignore the three year old having a temper tantrum at her sneakered feet.

She hurried off the bus at her stop happily and looked around for her friends. No one was around. No one.

"Miss Tarot."

Indigo spun and swung her bag in the same motion. The young man behind her caught it easily in both hands. Indigo looked up at a pair of gray-green eyes set in a strikingly handsome face.

"Jay?"

Raven's twin brother smiled and nodded. "I'm here to escort you inside. This is a rather unfriendly neighborhood."

"Tell me about it," Indigo said under her breath.

"Miss Darksyde and my sister are already there."

Indigo silently followed Jay through the alley and into the back entrance of a building. It was a different one from her last meeting but most of the furnishings stayed the same. It seemed to her like they had just up and moved their whole base of operations over the last few days. _How could they do that? And why?_

They stepped off the elevator and he led her to a room. Indigo breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her friends waiting for her. Morgan stood outside the room, next to an open window, smoking a cigarette. Indigo blinked as she realized her hair had lightened to a shocking pink.

Raven was pacing nervously, a strong contrast from her brother, who seemed perfectly comfortable in the surroundings.

Once her friends were accounted for, Indigo did a quick once-over of the room. It had a table placed in the center of the room. On the table was a covered body, whom she assumed was the man they'd be helping to heal. Around the table stood four tall censers. Another table sat in the corner, covered in the things they would be using for the ritual.

Standing beside the table was an older man. Indigo was sure he was older than he looked, and more powerful than he seemed. He watched her carefully, not leering like the man on the bus, but it disturbed her all the same. He walked over and pulled her towards the center table.

"With you here, we can begin," he said, his voice surprisingly strong. "You will stand here."

Indigo gulped as she was placed at the head of the table. Raven was placed to her left, halfway down the table, and Morgan stood across from her, to Indigo's right. The old mystic stood at the foot of the table, straight across from Indigo.

"I hope you all know what is required of you," he said slowly.

They all nodded, briefly going over their parts in their minds. As the old man busied himself with spreading herbs and lighting the censers, Indigo leaned her hands on the table on either side of the head. She was tempted to lift the sheet up to look at the man.

She looked and saw Raven staring straight down. Morgan was looking at Indigo, but quickly let the table capture her attention when the blonde looked over.

The man took his place at the foot of the table again. Jay and another guard stood by the door, both masked, and Indigo could sense several other people in the room.

The old man raised his arms and began chanting in Japanese. Bits and words floated through Indigo's mind, but she only understood a handful, despite her interest in the culture.

__

…spirit…

…death…

…soul…

…new…

…body…

Raven held her arms out to her sides. "We ask the Great Mother to hear us and grant our boon."

Morgan mimicked the movement. "For we are of her, we are her children, we do her will."

Indigo lifted her hands from the table. "We have her power."

Indigo felt the power surge through her, her entire body tingling. It started in her chest and spread out to her limbs. She heard the old man speak again and her chest tightened as another power overcame her. _What was happening?_

She tried to break the circle to get away from the discomfort but strong arms held her still.

"What are you doing?" she heard Morgan yell before the sound of two thuds and silence.

***

Leonardo hushed Raphael as they prepared to leave.

"What now?" Raphael growled.

Leo called for silence again and pointed to a building a block away. With their good eyesight they could see four Foot soldiers patrolling the roof. There were more down at the base of the building.

"_There_ they are," Donatello whispered with a smile.

Raph narrowed his eyes. "They don't need that many guards to 'lie low'. Something's up."

"I told you so," Leo smirked.

They moved silently, signaling each other to form a plan of attack.

Mike jumped onto the roof first with an enthusiastic "Cowabunga!"

All four soldiers turned with surprise. The shock lasting only a half-second before the attack began.

***

"Hold her still!"

***

Don took out two soldiers with his bo, hitting them both from behind simultaneously. Raph kicked one off the roof, and it sounded like he landed ungracefully, and rather painfully, on a fire escape. Finally, Leo punched the third in the face and swept his legs out from under him.

Mike stood by the roof door. "Let's crash this party!"

***

"It's nearly complete."

Indigo felt like she was being pushed away, even though her body was being held forcibly in place.

"It's done."

Indigo didn't hear these last words, or the commotion that followed them.

The door burst in and two green blurs took out the guards before they could react. They all moved into the room, weapons drawn.

"You're too late!" the old man cackled before disappearing into a secret door.

The other soldiers turned to do battle, letting Indigo's motionless body fall to the floor.


	5. Questions and Answers

Chapter Five: Questions and Answers

Chapter Five: Questions and Answers

***

The Foot attacked mercilessly. There were only five in the room, excluding the two fallen guards, but they were the best the Foot had to offer. And more were stationed throughout the building.

Mike rolled to avoid a blow and took cover under the table. It was then that he saw the girls. He signaled Leo.

The turtle's leader threw a soldier out the door and exited. Donatello allowed himself a moment to wonder, but it cost him a hit. He staggered back and nearly tripped over the body of a small girl. Now he understood, Leo left to get the fighting away from the girl…girls, there were more than one, all unconscious.

Raphael gave a sidekick that sent a soldier flying into the center table, knocking it over. Mike pulled the punkish girl towards him before the table landed on her and shot a dirty look to Raphael. He just grinned until he saw the other girls.

"Indigo?" he stuttered. He fell to his knees beside the pale blonde and checked for a pulse. He couldn't find one. "Mike…"

Mike frowned at his brother's behavior and checked the girl over himself. No pulse. No breathing. "I'm sorry." He checked the other girls, feeling horrible for Raph but he knew there was nothing he could do. By now there were no more soldiers in the room and fighting could be heard in the corridor outside.

Raph panicked. He had never panicked before. He jumped to his feet. "Leo!" He ran from the room, and a moment later Leo came stumbling in like he had been shoved through the door.

"Mike?"

Mike pulled him over. "She's not breathing, and there's no pulse." Leo knelt down beside the girl to start CPR. "She's Raph's friend."

Leo looked up at Mike in surprise, then back at the girl. He thought back to his earlier comment and frowned. He shook away the guilt and began to breathe for her.

***

Raphael became a true berserker. He no longer felt the pain of the blows and cuts as his enemy attacked. He felt only the white anger that threatened to consume him.

__

She can't be dead…

If she is, all these bastards are going to join her.

Donatello was having less trouble now that Raphael was here, but he found little comfort in his brother's seeming insanity.

Soon, the last of the army fell and they were the only two standing in the hall. Raphael tensed his fingers around his sai, waiting. When at last he was satisfied that there were no more he stuck his sai in his belt and ran back into the room with Leo and Mike.

Mike sat trying to revive the pink-haired girl while Leo was helping the brunette to her feet. Raphael's gaze fell onto the figure lying on the floor. He turned to Leo with accusation in his eyes.

Leo bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Raph, I tried…"

"Bull."

Leo cringed. "There was nothing I could do."

Raph knelt beside Indigo again. "No…"

Donnie put a comforting hand on his shoulder just to have it shrugged off as Raphael picked up the body of his friend. Mike picked up Morgan and looked over at Raven, who was walking, but had to lean on Leo.

"Is she…?" Raven asked, or rather, tried to ask. She couldn't finish the sentence, she just couldn't.

Raphael looked down at Indigo's face. She looked like she was only sleeping; her whole body relaxed, but was heavier than he expected. He silently headed back up to the roof.

"Leo?"

Leo let Raven go with Mike up to the roof and went over to the upturned table with Donnie. "What is it? What happened here?"

Don pulled back the sheet to reveal the face of Oroku Saki, his eyes staring lifelessly at the ceiling. Leo drew his katana instinctively.

"He's dead," Don stated. "For real this time." He looked around the shattered room. "Looks like they tried bringing him back again. And failed."

Leo sheathed his sword. "Why couldn't they just let things be?"

Don turned to leave. "They were devoted. You can't blame them for trying, we'd do it for you."

Leo stood in the room for several more minutes before taking his sword and stabbing it through the heart of the corpse.

"Just to be sure," he told the dead air as he wiped the blade with the sheet before placing it back over his enemy.

***

By the time Leo reached the roof Morgan had awakened and Raven was crying openly, being comforted by Mike.

Raphael was nowhere to be seen.

Leo looked to Don, who just shrugged, as if to say 'he was gone when I got here'. He voiced the question to the others. "Where's Raph?"

Morgan ran her fingers through her neon hair. "Just vanished with Indigo. Great Gaia, what am I going to tell her mom?"

Leo looked at both girls, making sure he had their attention. "Go home. Don't tell anyone what happened here. We'll take care of this."

Morgan poked him in the plastron with a blue fingernail. "Look, Blue-boy, she was our friend, our _leader_, and we aren't just abandoning this."

Don pulled her back. "You don't know what you're dealing with. The Foot are dangerous." He paused before adding, "How did you get involved in this anyway?"

Mike and Leo both looked at her expectantly. Morgan looked down at her army boots. "Raven's brother belongs to the group…the Foot, what a stupid name…and told us that they needed us to heal their master, who had been poisoned."

Leo frowned. "They lied." Morgan looked up in surprise and he continued, "They're a group of ninja thieves and we've fought them many times."

Raven looked up into Mike's brown eyes. "So, that makes you the good guys?"

"Yep," Mike grinned.

"Our last meeting with Shredder, their master, ended with his death," Leo explained.

"But he wasn't dead," Morgan argued. "I _felt_ his life force."

Don leaned on his bo. "Well, he's dead now, no doubt. Maybe the mutagen kept him alive after the pier collapsed on him."

"What?" Raven and Morgan exclaimed at the same time.

Leo sighed. "Nevermind. Just go home."

"No!" Morgan yelled. "They did something to her. It wasn't a healing spell, it was something else."

"What?" Mike asked.

"I don't know. The man spoke in Japanese."

Leo grabbed her arm, probably a little harder than he intended. "Tell me. Tell me exactly what he said as well as you can remember."

***

Raphael bent down on one knee and set Indigo on the ground. When he'd started walking he hadn't known where he was going; he was just…going, staying in the shadows. He was only mildly surprised that he had ended up in a cemetery, although he had no plans to bury his friend. He wasn't sure which one he was in, but he really didn't care as long as it was dark, secluded, and deserted. It was all three due to a wooded area nearby.

For the longest time he just sat there, watching her motionless form, like if he tried hard enough he could see a spark of life.

Why was life so unfair? How could it hate him so much? He'd known her for less than a week, talked to her three times, but seeing her like this hurt so much. Maybe losing the possibility was what hurt. He'd felt a kinship with her the second she didn't run screaming. When she told him she was as much an outcast as he was. Now it had been taken. Perhaps his one chance at…

Raphael shook his head and shut his eyes against the tears. If he'd been looking he may have seen what he had been looking for.

***

Heat. Life. It was returning, again. He could feel it, the air in his lungs, the blood in his veins, the light behind his eyes. As the energy increased, he could feel a presence near him.

He opened his eyes and looked around the unfamiliar surroundings. Before any evaluations could be made he heard a noise and moved his head in that direction.


	6. Body and Soul

Chapter Six:

Chapter Six: Body and Soul

***

Shredder gasped but didn't have the power to move yet.

His most hated enemy looked down at him with tear filled eyes that were as wide as dinner plates. He got up and backed away quickly, fear apparent on his inhuman features.

Shredder moved slowly, closing his eyes against the pain until he was standing. He opened his eyes and glared at the turtle.

Wait, something was wrong. He should have towered over the turtle, but there was barely a difference in their heights. He shifted into attack position and felt odd.

When the freak stayed where it was, Shredder took the time to check himself. The last thing he remembered was the dock, right after he'd taken the mutagen.

His eyes widened as he looked down at a gray silk shirt tucked into black jeans that ended in sneakers. He felt his chest and peeked under the collar before pressing the cool cloth back against his skin.

He felt his face turn red, with anger or embarrassment he wasn't sure. Maybe both.

"What happened to me!?!"

***

The turtles watched the girls board the bus to leave. After convincing the girls that they would take care of the situation, the girls decided to stay out of it, reluctantly, for now.

Leonardo looked to his two brothers. "Split up. We have to find Raphael as soon as possible."

"Do you believe them?" Donatello asked. Even with all they'd been through, their story was a little hard to swallow.

Leo considered for a moment. "We can't dismiss it. Even if it's not true, or didn't work, we still need to find Raphael."

"We should have translated it to them," Mike said. "At least then they'd know their friend…"

Don cut him off. "And have them worry more? No, I agree with Leo, they'd just get in the way right now. Maybe after we find out what really happened."

"Look," Leo said, "they gave us their numbers, and we will fill them in as soon as we know what's going on."

Mike nodded. Don cleared his throat. "Look, we have got to find Raphael fast."

His brothers gave him identical looks.

"Well, if it is true…and she wakes up…"

Leo and Mike's eyes widened and they sprinted off in different directions.

***

"Indigo?"

Raphael could hardly believe his eyes. A minute ago she had been dead. Deceased. No longer living. Now, she was standing before him, blushing madly, with a look of complete confusion on her face.

"Indigo…" he repeated, stepping forward.

She took a step back. "Stay back, freak."

Raphael paused from shock. Did she just call him a freak? His head started spinning. This was so wrong. "Indigo, what's wrong? It's me, Raphael."

The dark blue eyes looked him over. "Indigo?" she asked. _Who was that?_

Raphael frowned. "That's your name. Don't you remember? Did you hit your head?"

The eyes narrowed. "I remember. I must have hit my head when that dock fell."

Raphael opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out for a long moment. "That was…" he stopped as it all sunk in. The Foot…the guards…the body…

"Shredder!"

***

Leo started to feel that this was hopeless. His brother could be anywhere in the city, although he was carrying a dead body with him. But Raphael had no idea what had happened, and that's what scared Leo. The soul of his worst enemy was now in the body of his best friend and he had no idea.

"Okay," he whispered to himself. "If I was Raphael and my girl…my friend had just been killed, where would I take her body?" Leo rolled his eyes at his own question. He felt like he was in one of Mike's old B-movies.

He grinned as he caught sight of a sign hanging off a fence.

***

Shredder watched the turtle's features twist in horror, then anger. She remembered him, with the red mask. He was the one she had captured.

She quickly turned and ran into the woods, not wanting to risk a confrontation at the moment. There were several reasons for this. The most important one being that he had no idea what this body was capable of, if it was trained to fight. Also, he had to find out what happened, and how this had come to be. The angry turtle, which was armed, while she was sure she was not, also was a factor.

She was pleased that the longer legs on this body moved faster, and the lean frame helped weave through the trees. She could still hear the turtle behind her, making no effort to be silent, but the sounds were drifting away.

"Get back here!" the turtle, Raphael, yelled.

Raphael? How did she know his name?

__

He told me.

Just now.

__

No, after he gave my book back.

What?

***

Raphael drew on his anger as Indigo, Shredder, put more and more distance between them. No matter how much he pushed himself he never seemed to gain on her.

__

Damn, him. Why can't he just stay dead!

He saw another blur approaching and identified it as Leo.

"Raph!" Leo exclaimed.

Raph took his eyes from the figure before him for a second, to acknowledge Leo, but when he turned back, Shredder had disappeared into the shadows and mists.

Raph fell to his hands and knees gasping for air. Leo stopped beside him, also breathing hard. Raph pounded his fist on the ground.

"That bastard! Why? Why _her_, Leo?"

"I don't know, Raph," Leo said calmly. It upset him deeply to see his brother like this. "Maybe we can fix it."

Raphael laughed. Not a scornful, or even a sarcastic laugh. He just threw his head back and laughed as the fog rolled in around them.

***

It was nearly dawn by the time Leo dragged Raph back to the lair. Don and Mike were both there, having thought Raphael might have brought Indigo to their home.

"What happened?" Mike blurted out.

Raphael looked at him without really looking _at_ him. Then he took a shuttering breath and sat down in the nearest chair. There was an awkward silence as they all stared at their brother.

"What happened?" Mike repeated, softly this time.

"Where's Master Splinter?" Leo asked.

"I am here, my son." Splinter left the subway car, using his cane for support. He looked at Raphael for a long moment before turning to his other sons. "The Shredder has returned."

Leo nodded.

Splinter glanced at Raphael again. "I think you should tell me everything that has happened."

Leo took a deep breath and began to tell him about their patrol. Donatello continued, saying how they found the Foot's new headquarters and went in to see what they were up to. Mike described the fight and how they found the girls.

Splinter twitched his whiskers. "Indigo. That is the name of Raphael's friend."

Mike nodded, then looked at Leo, knowing that he couldn't continue. Leo bit his lip. "She was dead when we found her."

Splinter frowned.

"But she didn't stay that way."

"You saved her then," Splinter said. If they had saved her, why was Raphael so distraught?

Don shook his head. "No. We couldn't save her. Leo tried CPR, but…. After the fight, Raphael took off with her body and we found out what really happened."

"They were trying to resurrect Shredder," Leo said. "And they did it by putting his soul into Indigo's body."

Splinter understood now. This was worse than he had expected. Leo continued, "As far as I know, she… he…awoke with Raphael. I found him chasing her, but she got away. Raphael totally lost it."

Raphael leapt up from the chair and got in Leo's face. "You have no idea what I'm going through!"

Splinter put a calming hand on Raphael's arm. "No, my son, we do not. I know you cared for her, and that this is far worse than losing her, but we cannot lose our heads, or she will truly be lost."

Raphael lowered his head and hurried to his room, slamming the door behind him.

Splinter turned back to his sons. "We must stop Shredder and the Foot clan."

Mike raised his eyes from the floor. "But, what about Indigo? We just can't leave her like that."

Splinter sighed. "We may not be able to do anything, Michaelangelo. Our first priority is to stop the Shredder."

Donatello and Leonardo both looked over to Raphael's room but couldn't see through the boarded up windows. They both knew what they might have to do, and both hoped they wouldn't have to.


	7. Coming and Going

Chapter Seven:

Chapter Seven: Coming and Going

***

The room was occupied by only a few soldiers, most of them debating over their next move. Brian stood facing the only window in the room, his hands clasped behind his back. He heard Jay raise his voice to one of the newer members.

"What we need to do is find him!"

The door was kicked open, banging against the wall, getting the attention of everyone in the room. Brian turned and was ready to attack. Then he quickly bowed and the others followed his example.

"Master Shredder," Brian greeted, eyes still down.

"What have you done to me?" Shredder screeched, pulling the solider up by the collar. It upset her all the more that she could not lift him off his feet. She had neither the strength nor the height.

Brian made no attempt to free himself. "You have to understand that this was the only way."

Shredder let go and turned to the others in the room. "Who was responsible?"

"I was, Master."

Shredder turned to the corner, when an old man stood. "Explain, Cheng!"

Cheng gave a short bow. "There were many circumstances to consider. Believe me, this was the most compatible match."

Shredder glared down at her balled fists, traces of violet and silver still present on the nails. For the first time she noticed a silver ring on her left pinkie with a small turtle on it. She pulled it off but couldn't bring herself to throw it so she simply stuck it in her pocket. "_This_ is compatible?"

Cheng nodded. "I needed someone who had the energy and abilities necessary to house a soul transference. We did not have time to search out another host."

"Can it be reversed?"

Cheng shook his head. "Not without significant risk. I suggest you get used to it." He smirked at Shredder's less-than-pleased response. "I understand that the girl does have fighting potential, and youth is almost always an asset."

Shredder paused to let herself think. True, she was young again, and could easily get revenge on the turtles now.

"The turtles," she said, more to herself than those in the room. "One of them knew this girl."

Brian nodded. "They attacked just after the transfer. They did seem preoccupied with keeping the girls safe."

"The one in the red mask." She turned to Brian. "I need to know more."

Brian motioned for Jay. "Take her home, Jay. I'm sure her family will be happy to see her."

***

Donatello looked away from his computer screen and rubbed his eyes. He'd been searching the Internet for anything that could help their situation. After hours of work he'd found nothing and now he was getting a headache.

His stomach grumbled and he left his computer station to get something to eat. He passed Mike, who was on the phone with Raven, and Raph, who was training. Don would have stopped and commented to Raph about how just days before the rebellious turtle had complained that they had no reason to train, but thought better of it. Ever since last night, Raphael hadn't spoken a word. This morning, he'd gotten up early and started training. He was training before Don got up and started his search. He was still training now, hours later.

Guess he found a reason.

Leonardo was in the kitchen making tea. Don pulled a slice of pizza from the fridge and stuck it in the microwave. Usually, he didn't use the thing, he only fixed it, but he could at least manage to re-warm a slice of pizza without screwing it up.

"Anything?" Leo asked.

Don waited for the microwave to beep. "No. Nothing that would help. I never knew there was so much information about magick out there. It's a lot different from what I thought, too. For example, did you know that most people who practice magick today spell it with a 'k'?"

Leo looked up from watching the teakettle. "Why?"

Don shrugged. "They say it's to separate it from the stage illusions and David Copperfield stuff."

"Oh."

Don looked at his brother. "But Mike's on the phone with Raven. I don't really know what I'm looking for and we thought they could help."

Leo nodded.

"It's not your fault," Don told him.

Leo turned around sharply. "Yes, it is." Leo brought his tea to the table and sat down. "If I hadn't dragged us out there…"

"It still would have happened," Don interrupted.

"If we'd been earlier…"

"We could have screwed everything up, and got us all killed."

"Raph…"

"Would still be temperamental."

Leo lifted his mug like he was making a toast. "Always the optimist."

Don frowned. "I'm serious, Leo, things could have been worse. At least we know what we're dealing with, sort of. Right now the best thing we can do is make sure Raph…"

He was interrupted when Mike cried out, "Raph, wait a minute! Where you goin', bro?"

They both left the kitchen and saw Mike hang up the phone.

"Doesn't do anything stupid," Don finished off his earlier sentence.

Leo grabbed his swords from the kitchen. "We better go get him before he gets himself killed."

***

Raphael followed the path he'd memorized. This was only the third time he'd been down this way, but it was so familiar to him. More so than a trip to the nearest pizza parlor.

As he walked he ran over what he was going to say in his head.

__

I'm a friend…

No, I don't know where she is, but…

Can I search her room?

Raphael rolled his eyes and looked up at the manhole cover above his head. What would he _really_ do when he got there? Did her family even know she was missing? Would they let him in? Only one way to find out.

Once he was topside he pulled his fedora down lower. At least he'd remembered to grab his disguise on the way out.

He just couldn't stand it anymore, doing nothing. He was going stir crazy; he had to get out. He'd heard Mikey and Raven talking about getting some of Indigo's books in case there was anything in them and decided to go get them himself.

He paused at the bottom of the steps and took a deep breath. At the top, he paused again, this time to wait for someone to answer the door.

The door opened to reveal a plain woman with graying brown hair and frumpy clothes.

"Uh, hi," Raphael said. Can this woman really be Indigo's _mother_?

"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice was very tired.

"I'm ah…friend of Indigo's, and I was wondering…"

The woman stepped aside and pointed. "Take the stairs, second door on your left, up to the attic."

Raphael blinked several times. "Okay, thanks." He walked past her and up the stairs. Two small children ran down and he had to press up against the banister to avoid getting trampled.

__

Weird, he thought. _She just let me in…no questions._

He stopped at the second door on the left. "She lives in the attic," he said dryly, wondering if he'd stumbled into the plot of a V.C. Andrews book, and hoped that he hadn't.

Halfway up he heard noises coming from above him. Someone was up there. He pulled out a sai and silently continued up.

__

creak

Raphael paused three steps from the door. Damn loose step. He listened for sounds from the people in the room.

Nothing.

So either he had scared whoever was up there away, or…they had heard him. He wasn't sure until the door swung open.

Raphael gasped and stepped back to the step below him. And missed…

[Chapter Eight][1]

[Chaos index][2]

   [1]: http://www.geocities.com/kaligargoyle/chaos08.htm
   [2]: http://www.geocities.com/kaligargoyle/chaos.html



	8. Hit and Miss

Chapter Eight:

Chapter Eight: Hit and Miss

***

Shredder leaned forward to watch the turtle stumble backwards. She grinned as he missed a step and fell. Unfortunately, the turtle grabbed the railing along the wall to stop his fall. He did, however, hit his shell against the wall, and his face twisted in pain.

"Shredder," it hissed.

"So glad you could join us," she replied. "Your death will be at my hands, freak, but not today."

Raphael stumbled to his feet. "You'll never win, Shredder. We'll beat you again." _Damn, that's cliché._

Shredder snapped her fingers and two men appeared behind her. "I think not."

The door at the bottom of the stairs opened. Raven looked up and gasped. She was pushed aside by two more turtles; these ones not in disguise, who started up the stairs.

Raphael gave Shredder a confident glare. "You were saying?"

Shredder didn't even flinch as her soldiers fell behind her. Now she was vastly outnumbered. She would not be beaten again so soon after her revival. Using the speed she knew this body possessed she sped down the stairs, narrowly avoided being tripped by Raphael and crashed past the other turtles. One of them went after her while another came down from the room to help Raph.

"You okay?" Don asked, helping Raph to his feet.

Raph pulled away and headed down the stairs. "She's getting away!"

Mike just sighed as Raph ran past him and Raven.

Raph stopped at the sidewalk and looked both ways. He saw no one on the street.

"_Damn!_"

***

Leonardo hesitated as Shredder pulled a sword from under her long coat. He really didn't want to risk hurting Indigo, or rather, her body. He didn't know if 'Indigo' was still alive.

"Come, turtle."

Leo drew his katana, making sure the sound echoed through the alley. They circled each other, eyes locked. Leonardo sized up his enemy. She stood a bit taller than he was, but was not as well muscled. He knew she made up for that in speed. The hateful glare did little to diminish her striking beauty.

__

No wonder Raph fell so hard for her…

His thoughts were interrupted when Shredder charged, sword upraised to strike.

***

Don reached the bottom of the stairs soon after Raphael. "Let's go after him."

"Not so fast."

They all turned to see one of the soldiers walking down the steps holding an impressive looking gun.

Raven gasped. "Jay! How could you do this?"

Jay just smirked. "I have my orders."

Mike reached for his nunchaku but Don stopped him.

Jay gestured with the gun. "Move."

They all raised their hands and walked back through the house. It was eerily quiet and as they passed the living room an idea struck Raven. She turned to face her brother. "What did you do with Indigo's family?"

Jay looked confused and Mike took that opportunity to knock the gun from his hands. It hit the floor and discharged twice before sliding into the kitchen.

They all ducked as glass shattered somewhere nearby. Both Jay and Mike scrambled for the gun and Jay grabbed it first. Before he could get a grip around the trigger Mike punched him in the face. He fell back against the wall, blood streaming from his nose and from in-between his fingers.

Mike threw his fist in the air. "Yeah!"

"Mike!" Raven cried. "Don's been shot!"  
***

Raphael turned back towards the house when he heard the gun shots. He was about to go back in when he heard the unmistakable sound of swords hitting.

Leo and Shredder.

He took off in the direction of the sword fight, knowing that Mike and Don could take care of themselves. He had a score to settle.

He turned the corner just as Shredder's sword came down towards a fallen Leonardo.

***

"This isn't so bad."

Don gritted his teeth. "Oh, yeah, you aren't the one who got shot. _You_ take one in the backside and see how you feel!"

Mike snickered and searched through the first aid kit that Raven had found in the bathroom.

"It's not funny!"

"Don, stay still, I have to get the bullet out," Mike managed to say between laughs. "Luckily your shell slowed it down. There. I've got to bandage it now, so no funny ideas."

Don rolled his eyes. "_You're_ the one with his hands on my butt, and _I'm _the one with the funny ideas. How's your brother Raven?"

Raven looked over from inspecting the broken window. She'd been trying to avoid catching a glimpse of Don's exposed backside, although his shell covered most of it. She felt so embarrassed for him, and at her own curiosity. "He's…gone!"

Don frowned. "Probably retreated. He took his gun."

Raven sank into an armchair. "I still don't understand how this all happened. How could he do this to us, his own sister, and Indigo?"

Mike finished with Don and smiled at her. He wanted to hold her but at the moment his hands were covered in blood and he didn't want to get her nice white shirt dirty. "Don't worry, Raven, we've been through this kind of stuff before. It always turns out okay."

Don stood, using Mike and the wall for support. "We better get going. It's dark enough for us to get back home unnoticed."

"What about Indigo?" Raven cried, then added, "And your brothers?"

Mike and Don exchanged looks. "First we go home," Don said. "Weren't we lucky that the family was leaving when we got here?"

Raven stood up. "Yeah, I'd hate to see what would have happened if they had been here for this."

"Wait!" Mike propped Don against the wall and went into the kitchen. He proceed to clean up the blood as best he could. He was glad it was a red tile floor.

"What are you doing?" Don yelled from the doorway.

"Vanishing without a trace, bro!" Mike called back. "Not sure what we can do about the window, though."

***

"Shredder!"

The call startled her enough for her to miss, hitting the hard shell behind the turtle's neck. A sai flew past and knocked the sword from her hand.

Leonardo kicked her leg as he stood and got ready for another attack. Raphael approached from the opposite direction.

"Surrender," Raphael hissed, waving his other sai as a warning.

"Never!" Shredder screamed. She pulled a small white ball out of her pocket and threw it to the ground. The area filled with a thick smoke that burned Leo's eyes. He groped around until it cleared.

"Gone. Again. We better go get the others, Raph. Raph?"

He turned and his eyes fell on the body of his brother on the ground.

"Raphael!"

Chapter Nine ~~ coming soon ~~

[Chaos index][1]

   [1]: http://www.geocities.com/kaligargoyle/chaos.html



	9. Problems and Solutions

Chapter Nine:

Chapter Nine: Problems and Solutions

***

Leonardo rolled his brother over onto his back. Immediately, Raphael began coughing. Leo let out a sigh of relief.

"Don't do that," he said.

Raphael pushed himself up. "Oh, excuse me. Next time, I'll get your permission before getting knocked out."

Leo helped his brother to his feet. "That went well," he commented sarcastically. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Raph pushed off Leo. "That my brother was about to get his head chopped off!"

There was a long pause before Leo replied, "Thanks."

Raph went over and picked up his sai. "No prob."

***

"There they are!"

Mike and Raven turned around and saw Raph and Leo running towards them.

Leonardo frowned. "What happened to you three?"

Don tilted his head towards Raven. "We had a run in with her trigger-happy brother."

Raven gave him a hurt look and he apologized quickly.

"Sorry."

Mike grinned. "And Don got shot in the..."

Don interrupted. "They got away with most of Indigo's things. There's nothing up there except her furniture."

"Great," Leo sighed. "Let's get back home before anything else happens."

***

__

Ring

Morgan pulled her arm out from under her pillow and grabbed for the phone. She felt around for three more rings before finding it.

"Yo," she answered.

"I'm sorry," a small voice replied. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I always get up at five-thirty on Saturday."

"It's about Indigo."

Morgan became fully awake in a second. She sat up and started to get dressed, holding the phone against her ear with her shoulder. "What? Did they find her? What happened?"

There was a pause and more voices in the background. "I can't say over the phone. Can you meet us somewhere?"

"Yeah, wait, _us_? Are those turtles guys going to be there?"

"Uh huh, meet us at the cafe in an hour."

"Okay...Holy Isis, girl, the shop doesn't open till ten!"

Raven sighed. "I know, we're just meeting there. I'll see you then."

***

Shredder looked over the possessions taken from the girl's home with indifference. She had little use for such things, but a change of clothes had been welcomed. A pair of slacks and a pull over shirt, both black. She wondered how women got anything done at all with all the time they spent on grooming.

The only things of interest to her were the books. She started with a text on Eastern mysticism and found a great deal familiar. Whether it was from Saki's conscious memories, or Indigo's unconscious ones, she wasn't sure.

"Cheng!"

The old mystic appeared in the room within seconds. "Yes, Master Shredder?"

Shredder held out one of the books. "I seem to remember reading this before."

Cheng nodded in understanding. "A side effect. The girl's consciousness was not destroyed during the transfer, merely suppressed."

Shredder tapped her nails, which she decided to keep long, against the soft cover of the book she held. "Can you teach me to use the girl's powers?"

"Of course."

***

Raven looked around nervously. After all that had happened, she was more than a little scared to be out in the open. Having Mike with her helped a little. She looked over at him; all wrapped up in a hat and coat. She knew the others were around, but she couldn't see them anywhere.

"Raven."

Raven jumped and smiled when she saw her friend walking over. "Morgan! I'm so glad you could make it!"

"Yeah." She yawned, her hand rising to cover her mouth. She nodded to Mike but said nothing to him. "Okay, so what's happened to Indigo?"

"Oh, Morgan," Raven sobbed. "Indigo's been possessed by an evil ninja master!"

"Uh, huh." Morgan fought the urge to roll her eyes, although this news wouldn't be the weirdest thing to happen lately.

"And he's been trying to kill Raph and Mike and the others!"

Morgan looked over to Mike, who nodded. "So, what are we going to do about it?"

Mike and Raven looked at each other. "Actually, we don't know. We need your help to figure something out."

Morgan rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Sure, why not. It's not like I had anything else planned for today."

***

Morgan looked over Don's shoulder. This was all still so unbelievable. In fact, she didn't believe it, not really. In her mind she was still dreaming, and she'd eventually wake up. Until then, this was just interesting enough for her to keep from waking herself up.

"What about this?"

Morgan focused back on the screen. "Yeah, I've seen this before. Indigo found it while researching channeling."

"Good," Don sighed. "I am so glad you know what's going on, 'cause I am totally lost. This isn't really my area of expertise."

Morgan rolled her eyes. She leaned over and took the mouse. "If I remember correctly, there should be a page on ways to reverse it. She showed me in case..."

Don looked over at her. "In case what?"

"In case one of her experiments got out of control." She stood up and stuffed her hands into her pockets.

Don frowned. "This seems kinda dangerous to be 'experimenting' with."

Morgan gave an awkward smile. "She was never a by the book person. Succeeded more times than not. I never had to step in and help."

Don silently turned back to his computer.

Leo and Mike met Casey and April as they climbed down the ladder.

"There's been no of activity," April reported. "No reports of anything that sounds like the Foot, anyway."

Casey shook his head. "Not even on the streets. Couldn't find a single kid with info."

April shot him a disapproving look, which he ignored.

Leonardo nodded. "We know you tried. Anything Donnie?"

Don looked up from the screen. "Maybe. Do you think any of these will work, Morgan?"

"Only one way to find out."


	10. Requests and Demands

Chapter Ten:

Chapter Ten: Requests and Demands

***

Raven was startled awake.

"Who? What? Where?"

"Phone."

Raven rubbed her eyes and looked around her room. Mike waved at her from the corner and pointed to her phone, which rang again. It was Leo's idea for Mike to stay with her, and Don with Morgan, since they couldn't very well keep the girls in the sewers with them. Leo and Raph spent a lot of their time looking for the Foot.

Raven picked up her phone. "Hello?"

Mike giggled at her tone, which was rather annoyed since she had just been woken up in the middle of the night.

"Hello, Raven."

Raven froze. "Indigo," she squeaked.

Mike was next to her in an instant.

"Ah, I'm glad you remember me. I'd hate to lose a good friend like you, Raven."

Raven gathered up all her courage. "You aren't Indigo. What do you want?" she demanded.

On the other end of the line, Shredder smiled. "I wish to set up a meeting with our other friends. I know I can trust you to relay the message."

Raven nodded and looked at Mike, noting how concerned he looked. "Yes, I'll tell them."

"Good, tell them that I'll be waiting at our circle on the night of the new moon."

Raven stayed silent as Shredder hung up, listening to the dial tone for several moments before replacing the receiver.

Mike touched her shoulder, "What'd she say?"

Raven inhaled a sharp breath. "She wants to set up a meeting."

Mike nodded. "Yeah, we were waiting for this." He crossed his eyes. "Actually, we were expecting them to pass the information through April again." He shrugged. "Go back to bed, I'll call Leo. Don't worry, we know the routine."

Raven lay back down and watched as Mike dialed up the lair. She only heard half the conversation before she fell asleep again.

***

Shredder set down the phone and leaned back in the chair. Her plan was falling in place and going perfectly for once. She realized her mistake last time; she had rushed in too fast. This time she decided to wait, build up power before striking. She was confident now that none of them could stop her.

She held out her hand and a small glowing ball appeared in her palm. With this power, she felt invincible.

"Soon, it will all be over."

***

__

Indigo stood in her room. It was exactly as she remembered it. Her bed was neatly made with clean white sheets and her sky blue comforter. All her trinkets were lined up on her shelves. Even her altar had candles burning.

Something caught her eye. A Japanese style tapestry had taken the place of her chakra poster. She wandered over and reached out to touch it.

"Don't."

She spun to look for the source of the voice. It was deep, full of hate and malice.

"Shredder," she called out.

He emerged from the shadows, as he had looked before ever encountering the turtles, but just as intimidating as ever.

"We finally meet," he sneered. "I've heard so much about you."

Indigo lifted her chin defiantly, unwilling to show this man any weakness. "Get out of my head."

Shredder stepped towards her. "You don't get it, do you little girl? I'm in control here, not you!"

"You won't win," Indigo screamed. "I won't let you."

She launched forward with her fist.

Shredder sat straight up, the blanket falling off the cot and onto the floor. The dream was not a good sign. The girl was now trying to fight back.

***

"You sure you don't want me to come along?" Casey whined as the turtles prepared to leave.

"Casey, this doesn't concern you," Leo said, checking the straps of his belt.

"But I wanna bust some skulls! _They_ get to go!" He pointed to Raven and Morgan, who were wearing dark clothes for the trip.

"We need them. They know the area," Don said.

"But..."

"Aw, just let him come, Leo," Raph argued.

"Or we'll never hear the end of it!" Mike finished.

Leo covered his face with his hand. "When did this group become a democracy? Fine, Shredder probably won't expect us to bring you, anyway."

Casey pulled down his hockey mask and swung his stick. "Oh yeah!"

***

Shredder stood before the mirror. New armor had been made to fit her new body. The design was similar to her old set, only smaller.

She checked the sword that was strapped to her belt and picked up the helmet.

"Enter."

On the other side of the door, Jay hesitated a second before opening the door. "We are ready."

Shredder nodded briefly and slipped the helmet over her head. Jay bowed deeply and left.

Shredder grinned at her reflection. "Finally, revenge is mine."

***

From their place in the back of Casey's truck the turtles felt the truck jerk to a stop. Mike waited for the signal from Casey before tossing the tarp aside.

"_This_ is it?" he asked. "Looks kinda plain to me."

Raph jumped from the truck bed. "So what's so special about this place anyway?"

Morgan slammed the car door after Raven got out. "It's a place of power," she told him. "The three of us have our circles here sometimes, when the weather's good."

"Circles?" Don asked.

"Meetings," Raven clarified. "When we get together to do magick and stuff."

"A place of power, huh?" Leo looked around. "Magick is like ki, isn't it?"

Raven nodded slowly. "Kinda. Ki and Chi are energies. Magick is more of a technique to harness it."

"No wonder she choose this battlefield."

Mike scratched his head. "So, if Shred-head knew about this place, does that mean he also knows everything Indigo knows? Like all her magick?"

All eyes turned to Mike as they let his words sink in.

"Great," Raph moaned. "Just great."


	11. Hurting and Healing

Chapter Eleven: Hurting and Healing

Chapter Eleven: Hurting and Healing

***

Morgan headed off. "Come on, we need to walk the rest of the way."

"The _rest_ of the way?" Casey groaned.

"It's only half a mile," Raven replied.

Casey groaned again. Raph punched him in the arm. "What, tired already? Maybe you're getting too old, Casey."

Casey tried to punch Raph back, but the turtle dodged. "Me? Tired? No way. I thought this was the place."

"No," Morgan said. "But this is as far as we can go with the truck. The trails are too small."

Leonardo turned to face Casey. "Besides, I would like to keep some element of surprise."

Casey threw his hands up in an I-give-up gesture and followed along.

***

"Shh." Leo gestured for the others to slowly follow him into the clearing. As soon as his feet touched the cool grass, a tingling sensation traveled up his leg. He paused and looked behind him. Raven and Morgan both nodded and they went forward.

The turtles and Casey formed a circle around the girls, facing out towards the darkness, to the enemy they knew was out there. Raphael opened his mouth but Donatello clamped his hand over it.

"Not this time, bro."

Raph rolled his eyes, then tensed when a cold breeze blew through the trees.

"So glad you could make it."

They all turned, straining to see in the dim light. The only sources of illumination were a few candles since the trees blocked out the sky. Leonardo stood between Shredder and the others. He knew that there were at least a dozen ninja surrounding them, maybe more.

Shredder stood between two pillar candles on tall stands. Raphael heard the girls beside him gasp at the sight of their once-friend. To tell the truth, the sight shocked him as well. He could hear his brothers readying their weapons as the Foot closed in.

Shredder raised her arms and the candles flared up. The turtles closed their eyes against the blinding flash, but it was too late, their night vision was gone. And the Foot attacked.

Michaelangelo took a blow as he tried to rub away the little flashing dots.

Casey and Raphael jumped into the thick of things swinging, despite the fact they were half-blind.

Donatello and Leonardo backed up with the girls and waited for their eyes to readjust. Leo closed his eyes to focus, and opened them as he backed away from the blade that nearly took off half his face. He brought his own katana up to block the next blow.

"You can't win this time," Shredder hissed.

"Don't bet on it, Shredder," Leo replied, hitting her wrist with the handle of his sword. Shredder's weapon clattered to the ground and Leonardo leapt forward, pining Shredder to the tree. Shredder's knee came up and hit the turtle's lower plastron and left a large gash in his thigh from her blades. Leo fell back, only to be replaced by Raphael.

Raven knelt beside Leo and he pulled her closer. "Can you do it now?"

Raven gave him an uncertain look. "Umm...I'm not sure. It would be harder, with no guarantees."

Mike suddenly appeared beside them. "What's the plan?"

Leo cringed as he tried to stop the bleeding. "I think we need to rethink our plan."

Mike nodded and patted Raven's shoulder before heading back into the fight.

"What are we going to do?" Raven asked.

Leo squeezed her hand. "Get Morgan, we're going back to the truck."

"But Indigo!"

Leo gave her a look that told her not to argue and she pulled Morgan from the fight. They helped Leo up. Don came over and talked with Leo in a low voice, then hurried back. Leo tossed his head in the direction of the truck and they left the fight behind.

***

Shredder picked up her sword and hit Raphael under the chin on the way up. Raph's head snapped back and he stumbled back, which saved him from getting his throat slit.

Donatello realized quickly that these Foot had been doing some heavy training and that this was going to be a hard battle.

Michaelangelo saw Leo leave with the girls, and went after the ninja who decided to go after the trio. Casey Jones slammed his hockey stick across the chest of one soldier and ducked to let another fly over his head.

The battle slowly turned in favor of Casey and the turtles when the Foot reinforcements stopped arriving.

Shredder cursed as Raphael knocked her weapon away and tried to slash with her arm blades. He stabbed at her and she grabbed his arm just above the wrist. Raphael hissed as his whole arm went numb.

***

It took nearly twenty minutes for them to reach the truck, and they were all tired.

Raven pulled a first aid kit from the truck and hurried to help Leo clean up his wound.

Morgan poked her index finger in Leo's face. "Why'd you make us leave?"

Leo sighed. "I have my reasons." He hit the truck bed in frustration, making Raven jump. "I shouldn't have been caught off guard like that."

Raven set her hand on his shoulder in a sympathetic gesture. Morgan was about to make another comment when Casey Jones jumped out of the shadows and threw open the truck door. "Let's move it!"

Raven and Morgan looked confused as the other turtles appeared, seemingly out of thin air and Casey started the truck. Raph carried a limp form in his arms.

Raven froze, memories of that horrible night not to long ago going through her mind. Morgan finally pulled her into the cab and Casey hit the gas.

Even though a million questions were flying through everyone's mind, the trip home was eerily quiet.

***

"You were successful?"

Leonardo knelt before Splinter the best his injured leg allowed him. "Not quite, sensei."

Raphael laid Indigo down on the couch and sat down on the floor beside her. He took a deep breath as the others surrounded them.

Casey dropped his golf bag on the floor and stood over Raph. "So, like, what happened back there?"

Leo turned to Raph with a questioning look.

Raph shook his head. "She did something weird. " He flexed his arm and rubbed it. "Lost all feelin'."

Raven touched his arm and he pulled away. A look of caution crossed her face. "I just want to find out what she did to you."

Raph grumbled as he held his arm out, "It's fine now."

Raven frowned. "She did a type of pain blocking spell, the kind we use in healing."

Morgan clenched her fists. "That means he definitely got into her magickal knowledge."

"What happened next?" Splinter asked softly.

Raphael pulled his arm back and shrugged. "She passed out."

Leo frowned. Mike gave a blank look. Don tapped his chin, "Could she have expended too much energy?"

"Maybe," Raven said softly. "But if she had, she'd be up by now."

"How do you know that?" Mike asked. 

Before Raven could answer, Morgan snapped her fingers. "That's it! Raven, remember Becca?"

Raven nodded, suddenly understanding. "Yeah," she turned to Mike and the others. "Becca was a part of our circle, but she did some other work without us. Not good stuff."

"What happened to her?" Raph asked.

"She tried to curse Indigo so that she could be leader, but it backfired. She was in a comma for three weeks," Morgan replied. "And was never able to do magick again."

"It's called the Law of Three," Raven added.

"Huh?" Mike said. "What law? We didn't break any laws."

Morgan shook her head. "No, but Indigo did, or should I say this Shredder person did. Whatever energy you send out comes back to you, times three. Do good, and good happens to you."

"And if you do evil, it returns," Leo finished. "Like Karma."

"Exactly."

"So," Don said slowly. "She got struck down by...magickal feedback?"

Morgan looked impressed. "By Diana, we may make a witch of you yet, Donnie!"

Don looked slightly embarrassed and looked away towards Indigo. Raph began to pull Shredder's armor off her body. "So, how do we fix it?"

"Well, we were going to try a type of exorcism, but I don't think that'll work now."

Raven scratched at her temple. "Right, we don't have the dominant entity anymore. We'll have to go find them."

"Go find them?" Casey repeated. "And how do you do that, exactly?"

"Astral travel. They aren't in her conscious mind anymore, so we have to travel her subconscious, through the astral world, and find her, guide her back."

They all looked at Morgan like she was crazy.

"It's not as hard as it sounds!"


	12. Life and Death

Chapter Twelve: Life and Death 

*** 

Splinter sat in his favorite chair and watched his sons prepare for their journey. This would be one of the most difficult battles they would ever face, and they had the more to risk than ever before. With the exception of Leonardo, his sons had little experience with meditation, and even less in the Astral Realm. Then he remembered what they accomplished when Shredder had kidnapped him, and found new faith in his sons' abilities. 

Casey had left for work, seeing as how all the action was over. 

Morgan directed the four turtles to sit with her and Raven in a circle around Indigo. The two girls began to chant, and eventually the four Turtles joined in, slowly drifting away. 

*** 

_Wow._

That was the only word Michaelangelo could find to describe his surroundings. It was more beautiful than anything he had ever imagined. And he felt like he could stay here forever. 

His brothers seemed to share his sentiment, but they were soon pulled from the glowing landscape and dropped into someplace dark. 

Morgan turned in a complete circle, taking in the dark, dull scenery. "This is _not_ good." 

"We need to hurry," Raven told them. 

"What is this place?" Don asked. This place thoroughly confused him. He wasn't seeing, hearing, or feeling, yet he was. This was so unlike anything he'd experienced before. 

_Help me_

Raphael drew his weapons. "That was..." 

"Yeah," Leo answered. "Let's go." 

The two girls took the lead, and the others followed behind. 

At last they saw something other than darkness. Surrounded by a silvery white aura was Indigo. Raven cried out and ran forward. 

"No, wait!" Leonardo called out to her. But he was too late. Just before Raven reached her friend a black shadow descended upon her. She was thrown back, caught by Mike but they both fell back. The shadow figure was so dark that it stood out even against these surroundings. And they had no trouble identifying the evil energy. 

"Shredder!" Raphael yelled. "Let her go!" 

The shadow shifted into a more familiar shape. "She is my vessel back to the world. I will _not_ go back to the void." 

Leonardo pulled his swords from behind his back. "Then we'll just have to make you." 

"I invite you to try, freak." 

Leonardo lunged forward, his sword passing through Shredder like he was made of fog. "What the..." However shadow-like Shredder seemed, his blow was solid enough to send Leo flying back towards the group. 

"It went right through him!" Mike cried. "We can't even touch him." 

"But it seems _he_ can touch _us_," Don noticed. 

Morgan shook her head. "This isn't the physical world," she said. "Things work differently here." 

"So how are we gonna beat him?" Raph asked, growing more frustrated by the second. 

"You can't!" Shredder yelled, rushing towards them. They scattered and Raphael launched another attack. This one didn't even reach the target, and he was thrown aside. 

"Raph!" Mike called out as he saw his brother fly through empty space. Raphael suddenly stopped and floated downward. Indigo knelt beside him. 

Shredder turned towards them. "Just give up, girl!" he hissed. 

Indigo placed her hand on Raph's forehead and his eyes shot open. 

_Help me, my angel_

"What's she doing?" Don whispered as they watched Indigo's aura envelope Raphael. 

"Helping," Morgan replied in awe. 

Raphael rose to his feet, his eyes colored with swirling silver and white. The Shredder actually shrank away from the Turtle. 

The energy surrounding Raphael pooled into his hands. He took on a look of concentration and the energy formed beams of light, twisting together to form what resembled a pair of sai. 

"This time," Raphael growled, approaching Shredder, "I'm making sure you _stay_ dead." 

He jumped and landed in front of Shredder, thrusting his sai forward. Instead of passing through harmlessly, they met with resistance as Shredder was forced to block. 

"Now..." Raph swung hard and hit Shredder across the arm. 

"You..." Raph twisted away from a strike and followed up with a kick to Shredder's face. 

"DIE!" He brought his sai forward and buried it deep in Shredder's chest. 

The group watched in horror as Shredder sank to his knees and screamed, his soul tearing apart and then forced from Indigo. 

As Shredder disappeared, so did the surrounding darkness. Light and color surrounded them again. The entire group ran towards Raphael. 

"Dude, that was awesome!" 

"Way to go!" 

"I knew you could do it, bro." 

_Thank you_

Raphael turned and watched Indigo fade away. He started to worry, but Raven smiled at him. 

"Let's go home." 

*** 

Splinter watched silently as his sons awakened from their trances. He eagerly awaited news of the battle. 

Leonardo looked at his sensei's questioning look and smiled. "We defeated the Shredder." 

Raven and Morgan lifted Indigo up into a sitting position as she began to stir. Raphael was relieved to see that she was all right after all. Indigo slowly opened her eyes and moaned, "What happened?" 

Morgan rubbed her friend's shoulder. "Don't you remember?" 

Indigo was finally aware enough to look around. She recognized Raphael, and the others...vaguely... She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my god." 

"You're safe now," Don told her. 

"Yeah," Mike chimed in. "Raphael kicked Shred-head's butt back to where he belongs." 

Raphael helped Indigo to her feet but she fell back against him. Leo smirked as Raph helped her over to the couch. She seemed rather upset by the whole situation. "What have I done..." 

"You didn't do anything," Raph snapped. "It was the Shredder." 

"How long were we gone?" Morgan asked Splinter. 

"Nearly three hours," the elderly rat told her. "I was beginning to worry." 

"_Three hours_?" Mike gasped. "It didn't feel like that long." 

Morgan shrugged and tried to suppress a yawn. "Well, it's all over now." 

*** 

Indigo stepped into her room and stared in shock. "Where's all my stuff?" 

Raphael grimaced. "Oops, forgot they cleaned the place out." 

Indigo rubbed her temples. "Oh man..." 

"Hey, don't worry, we'll get your stuff back. I promise. It's probably back at Foot Central." 

Indigo sat down on her bed and sighed. "I keep wishing that this is all a bad dream and it'll all go away when I wake up." 

Raph stood in front of her. "_All_ of it?" 

Indigo reached out for his hand. "Well, maybe not _all_ of it. I'd like to keep my guardian angel." 

"You keep saying that. I am _not_ an angel, believe me." 

Indigo smiled. "I hope you'll forgive me if I don't." She stood, keeping her grip on his hands. "You have this odd habit of showing up to save me." 

"Yeah, well, if you didn't keep getting in trouble..." 

Indigo just let out a small laugh and shook her head. "You really are something, Raph." 

Raphael gave her an odd smile before leaning in to kiss her. "I hoped you would notice." 

Indigo felt her cheeks warm when they where interrupted. 

"Indigo, are you up there?" 

"Damn, it's my mom." She pushed Raphael towards the window and pulled the curtains just as her mother opened the door. 

"Ah, I see you decided to come home." 

"Look, mom, I can explain..." 

"No need. Since you've already moved your stuff out, there's no since in moving it back in." 

"But mom!" 

Indigo's mother kept a grip on the door handle. "I do think it's time you got out on your own, Indigo. I've got five other kids to worry about without you disappearing on me." 

Indigo cringed as the door was slammed shut. She didn't even realize Raphael had come back into the room until he touched her shoulder. 

"I heard. We have room..." 

Indigo let out her breath. "So much for life returning to normal." 

*** 

Chaos index 


End file.
